There are no sewing mistakes - only opportunities for design features.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Messing with Ottobre (again)

I Really Really Really like the Ottobre nursing top I made. I knew I'd be making it again, and here it is in the fabric I wanted to use if the first one worked out well.

It's a printed mesh with an underlayer of a heavy, drapey knit - not sure what it is. I decided to eliminate the bands, as with this fabric they'd be lost at best, and look patchy at worst. The back and lower front pieces are cut as one piece (each, naturally), which I acheived simply by overlapping the pieces on the fabric as I cut. They don't line up perfectly (there is some shaping there), so I just cut a "line of best fit" to join them up. I also lengthened the sleeves since we're heading into winter here. The sleeves are only mesh, but if I wear this top with a layer over it I'll be warm enough. The underlayer with the nursing access I left plain red because I thought that more mesh would look a bit busy, and this played up the lines of the top better.

I'm really pleased with how this turned out - now to dream up version #3! I'm thinking maybe another print with contrasting plain bands and neckline binding?

Here she is in her best model pose - she doesn't look like a baby who kept her mother up half the night for no discernible reason does she?

Since I was making it from polar fleece, I felt that gathering the hem band would just be bulky at the gathering line, so I decided to add flare instead. I did that by very simply adding width to the bottom of the pattern piece for the side front, and skimming in the side seams at the waist. I then added the same details to the back piece, because I prefer garments to have construction details on the front and back, not just the front. I also tapered the sleeves towards the wrist to avoid a lot of bulk, which is difficult to fit under another layer in the cold weather. Finally, I made it a jacket instead of a sweatshirt by adding seam allowances to the centre front instead of cutting it on a fold.

And here it is without her in it, showing the design lines better. (I know the sleeves are not evenly folded. One is out of the way of the side seam to show the shaping, and the other is carefully hiding a bit of weetbix which didn't quite make it to her mouth this morning!)

1 comment:

That mesh worked out well as a top. I like the effect of the red panel. So how many versions do you think you can fit in your wardrobe? ;)Cute little jacket for I. She really doesn't look like a baby who's short on sleep. :) Hope you managed to get a nap.

About Me

Who am I? I'm a lifelong sewer with a degree in Clothing and Textiles so I can pretend I know stuff, and a husband and five kids to remind me that there is more to life than fabric.
I sew because I love it.